The Slaughter
by Paris in December
Summary: Tag to Werewolf Breeding, Chapter 1. It's time for the full moon hunt, and Seamus discovers something awful about the lottery. Written for the HPFC Character Death Challenge. No slash, but some gore. Dark AU. Chapters: 1/1. Moonlight series.


**Author's Note:** Written for the Character Death Challenge by BelleD'Opium on the HPFC forum. Warning: this is very AU and very dark. My prompt was "hatred."

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Funnily enough, the most pressing thing on Seamus's mind when he's out in the middle of the hunt is how annoying the howling is. It's not frightening, exactly, but every time one wolf stops, another picks it up, and as a result it never seems to end. He supposes this is just his brain trying to protect him from the knowledge that if one of these wolves gets to him, he'll either be dead or…

His current vantage point is a small tree. Werewolves can climb, but not very well, and they'll all be busy right now going after the easier prey. It won't protect him for long, though, because there are only six students out here and there are an awful lot of wolves.

A howl sounds very close to his tree. Seamus wriggles, shrinking closer to the trunk, and prays that the wolf won't see or scent him. For the moment, its attention is on a tall boy Seamus recognizes vaguely from Quidditch. Cedric Diggory, that's what his name is. Diggory is leading the wolf on a chase, making all sorts of feints and zigzagging across the ground. These look like the sorts of moves he might have learned in Quidditch. Seamus makes a note to himself to learn the game, if he gets out of this alive.

He climbs to a higher branch to get a better view as the wolf closes in on Diggory, in spite of the Hufflepuff's clever maneuvering. The fact remains that the wolf is faster than any human being, and Diggory is all too human. Suddenly, Diggory darts to the left, then bends down and grabs something. As Diggory straightens, Seamus sees a small boy in his arms, a first year.

_A first year._ Seamus stares, too horrified to speak. He hadn't realized first years were even in the lottery. They shouldn't be – they're too young! But the boy Diggory is holding can't be older than eleven.

The wolf howls again, and Diggory starts running, coming back to the tree. Seamus quickly shifts his position so that he can grab the boy out of Diggory's arms, because he's sure Diggory's plan is to get him up into the tree to protect him. As the wolf turns, briefly confused by the sudden change in direction, Diggory breaks into a sprint and closes in on the tree.

"Here," says Seamus, popping his head out of the foliage and reaching out an arm.

"Derek, you have to get up in the tree," Diggory says breathlessly, pushing the first year in Seamus's direction. "Let Finnigan help you." Seamus didn't realize Diggory knew his name. "Come on, Derek!"

But the young boy is trembling and obviously too traumatized to move. Seamus grimaces and maneuvers himself so that he can wrap his arm around Derek. Diggory helps him to start lifting the boy into the tree, but then there is an awful growl and the wolf latches onto Diggory's arm. Seamus and Derek watch helplessly as it drags Diggory away from the tree and rips his arm right off of his body. Diggory screams, and the wolf slashes at his throat, cutting off both his voice and his life.

"Get up, Derek, get _up_," Seamus whispers, frantic now, because there are two other wolves loping towards them, probably attracted by the slaughter of Diggory. Derek is frozen for a moment, but then he starts moving of his own accord, clambering up onto Seamus's branch. "Higher," Seamus urges, and he uses his hands as a support to help Derek into branches farther up than he could have climbed on his own.

The wolf who killed Diggory is coming back to the tree, apparently chased off by the other two, who are now feasting on Diggory's body. Seamus wants to turn away, but he can't, because he has to keep an eye on things for Derek's sake. He gives Derek one last push and then starts lifting up his own body, but before he can pull his leg out of the way, the werewolf lunges and latches onto it, trying to drag him back down.

Derek screams. Trying to keep from crying out, Seamus grabs the branch above him and gives a mighty yank. That gets his leg out of the wolf's jaws, but it hurts like _hell_ and it's bleeding all over the place. The wolf whines and then gives a mournful howl as Seamus climbs up to Derek's branch and leans against the trunk of the tree, panting.

"It bit you," Derek whispers. "Are you going to turn?"

"Not tonight," says Seamus, feeling sick to his stomach. He might throw up. Will the wolves try to eat his vomit in lieu of his body? "But I won't be going back to Hogwarts."

Seamus is not the kind of person who feels hate regularly, but as he watches the wolves at their meal, hatred wells up inside him.

Maybe on the next hunt, he'll be howling with them.

Maybe death would have been better.


End file.
